Flashback: In 2002, Ted O’Brien Vowed To Help McCall Defeat Cuomo

Democratic Senate candidate Ted O’Brien is running in part to link his ideals with popular Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In 2002, as chairman of the Monroe County Democratic committee, O’Brien backed then-Comptroller H. Carl McCall over Cuomo in the Democratic primary for governor.

“I defy any person in this room . . . to find a person with a more compelling, a more complete, a more relevant resume for the job of governor than Carl McCall,” O’Brien said at a March 2002 rally, according to a report in the Democrat and Chronicle.

He added that, “The party is prepared to advance the candidacy of Carl McCall.”

The fact that O’Brien backed McCall isn’t surprising because McCall was the party’s pick, and Cuomo was the outsider who dropped out of the race just days before the September primary. But O’Brien’s endorsement came in March, months before the party’s convention to back McCall, who was seeking to become the state’s first African-American governor. He lost to Republican incumbent Gov. George Pataki.

Locally, Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson was backing McCall. The main supporter of Cuomo in Rochester at the time was Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, who remains a close ally.

O’Brien’s campaign shrugged off the McCall endorsement a decade ago. McCall and Cuomo have made up, it appears: Cuomo named McCall in December as head of the SUNY Board of Trustees. (Left, here’s an AP photo of McCall and Cuomo after a debate in 2002.)

“In this race, it is clear who is a supporter of Governor Cuomo’s leadership and who is not. While Sean Hanna was publicly attacking Governor Cuomo and raising property taxes for Monroe County residents, Ted O’Brien was working with Governor Cuomo to get property taxes under control,” said O’Brien’s campaign manager Loren Amor in a statement. “Sean Hanna mocked the Governor’s mandate relief commission and suggested the Governor’s economic development agenda was based on political cronyism instead of merit.”

Hanna has been critical of Cuomo, including in last year’s special session to approve a new tax deal.